Quality and safety stressed as R&D cycle speeding up

Automakers in China are shortening development cycles and launching new models more quickly to better respond to changing consumer demand, but industry experts said faster iteration should be backed by more robust testing and quality management to ensure long-term safety and reliability.

The faster pace is reflected in both shorter development cycles and a growing number of new vehicle products. According to a McKinsey report, the development cycle for new vehicles in China has been shortened to about 24 months from around 60 months in the era dominated by traditional fuel vehicles.

A catalog released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on June 10 included about 65 new passenger vehicle products, compared with 52 in May.

Annual product updates have become increasingly common among automakers, especially new energy vehicle brands. These may take the form of all-new models, upgraded versions or incremental functional improvements, including larger battery packs, driver-assistance systems and in-car software.

Part of the faster pace has been enabled by changes in vehicle architecture and engineering methods. Electric vehicles often use more centralized electronic and electrical architectures, allowing automakers to reuse software and key systems across models, while virtual simulation can improve the efficiency of design verification.

Guan Mingyu, a senior partner and leader of McKinsey's automotive practice in China, said the faster pace of product updates has given intelligent electric vehicles some characteristics similar to consumer electronics. But he said such similarities should not obscure the fact that cars remain durable goods closely linked to safety.

Guan said that no matter how automakers optimize development processes, they must complete necessary road tests and the required testing mileage. These steps are essential to protecting consumers and supporting automakers' long-term development, he said.

Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Group, also cautioned against a shortcut-driven approach to vehicle development. Speaking at a recent industry forum in Chongqing, he said new models should follow standard vehicle development procedures instead of cutting test procedures or shortening verification time.

The emphasis on verification is also reflected in regulatory requirements. In January, the MIIT issued revised vehicle access standards, which will take effect on Jan 1, 2027. Under these requirements, conventional vehicles must complete at least 30,000 kilometers of reliability verification, while electric vehicles continue to follow a 15,000-kilometer requirement under type-approval testing procedures.

Quality management, however, is not limited to reliability testing. A study by J. D. Power showed that quality problems among China's new energy vehicles continued to increase in 2026, though at a slower pace.

Design-related problems now account for nearly 70 percent of all reported issues. It makes optimization of user interaction and intelligent system accuracy a core priority, said Sean Wang, managing director of automotive product solutions at J. D. Power China.

The 2026 China New Energy Vehicle Initial Quality Study released in April showed that the industry average reached 231 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), an increase of 5 PP100 from a year earlier.

The findings also suggest there is still room for automakers to improve product design and user experience as they accelerate product updates.